The Mets' David Wright watches the game from the bench tonight.NEW YORK — Through it all, the most you got from David Wright was an acknowledgement of a slight pain. No big deal, he insisted. As his batting average plummeted toward the Mendoza Line and his strikeouts continued to mount, he simply lowered his head and continued to grind.
Today, the mystery of the Mets’ third baseman’s alarming slump was solved.
Wright has a stress fracture in his lower back, the club announced. He's expected to go on the 15-day disabled list pending a second opinion. At this point, the team believes rest, and not surgery, is the best course of action. Veteran Willie Harris replaced Wright in the starting lineup tonight against the Marlins at rain-soaked Citi Field, where the game was delayed one hour, 20 minutes, then played in a steady mist.
The Mets (19-22) turned in several defensive gems and got another strong starting performance from righthander Mike Pelfrey (one run in seven innings), but it wasn't enough as Marlins relief pitcher Burke Badenhop ripped an RBI single (his first at-bat all season) in the 11th inning to give Florida a 2-1 victory before an announced crowd of 23,721 fans. Pitcher Jonathon Niese delivered a pitch-hit, two-out triple in the bottom of the inning but was stranded when Jose Reyes struck out, ending a three-hour, 31-minute marathon.
“Pelfrey pitched good, our bullpen (pitched well), we got runners on base, we got a lot of things in our advantaged but couldn’t take advantage of it,” manager Terry Collins said after the Mets went 2-for-12 with runners on base.
Alderson said the club feared Wright’s injury — which happened on April 19 against the Astros while making a diving tag — was something Wright would have to live with for the rest of the season but doctors have assured him that isn’t the case. Once Wright is rested and pain-free, the injury isn’t expected to linger.
“I was shocked when they told me it was a stress fracture in my lower back, near my spine,” said Wright, adding he would’ve continued to play through it if he wasn’t risking further injury. “I thought it (the MRI) was going to be kind of a routine thing. They’ve wanted me to get an MRI for some time. I felt I was getting better.”
If Wright goes on the DL, Alderson said he’ll fill the roster spot from within. His options include promoting Nick Evans or Luis Hernandez from Triple-A Buffalo to play third or calling up veteran Ruben Tejada to play second base and sliding Justin Turner to third.
With both Wright and first baseman Ike Davis out of the lineup, the Mets are without their two most potent bats. Davis left this afternoon to rehab his injured left ankle in Port St. Lucie and vowed to be ready when he scheduled to come off the DL on May 26.
“You just have to have guys step up,” Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens said. “I just tell the guys to stay in the moment. You just have to go up there and try to get a good pitch to hit. You have to keep it in its simplest form. You can’t worry about how many guys are out.”
Wright, who didn’t complain of the injury despite sending extra time in the training room and an occasional heating pad strapped to his back after games, rested the back for two games in Colorado last week and has been taking anti-inflammatory medicine but the pain has lingered.
“I’m disappointed,” Wright said. “It’s frustrating. I’m not scared by any means. Hopefully, we get this thing knocked out in two weeks and get back at it.”
Wright has looked uncomfortable at the plate and his 43 strikeouts were tied for fifth in the National League entering tonight’s game. He is hitting .226, with six home runs and 18 RBI in 39 games this season. In his last 10 games, he hit .125, with one home run and two RBI.
As is his wont, Wright refused to alibi for his poor play.
“By no means is this thing a cop out or excuse for what I’ve done (this season),” Wright said. “When I take the field, I expect to produce. When this thing is over, I expect to play at the level I’m accustomed to playing at.”
Dave Hutchinson: dhutchinson@starledger.com